Let Goodness Prevail

Let Goodness Prevail In the beginning, life was good—both physically and spiritually. In fact, God created everything that existed and called it very good.  But that goodness was fractured when an enemy enticed God’s image-bearing people to question His goodness and doubt His trustworthiness. So, when Adam and Eve chose to disregard God’s instructions by eating from the only forbidden tree, their eyes were opened to two opposing forces: good and evil.  The battle between good and evil isn’t just an overarching theme in the Bible, but a theme that permeates every continent, every culture, and every nation. It’s a theme that’s laced throughout books and movies, and one that plays out in real life. And the reason it’s so pervasive is because there's a real battle taking place.  All these years, we’re still sharing this good-yet-fallen world. But, make no mistake, the Kingdom of Darkness is still warring against the Kingdom of Light.  The apostle Paul gave some advice on this topic to the believers in Rome, writing:  “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:21‬ ‭NIV In the same chapter, Paul explains practical ways to live this out: by rejecting evil, by clinging to good, by genuinely loving people, by blessing those who persecute you and refusing to take revenge on your enemies.  This could also look like forgiving someone who’s harmed you, showing kindness to a stranger, or standing up for the poor, marginalized, and weak. Conquering evil with good requires sacrifice and surrender. It often means saying “no” to our human desire for retribution and retaliation, and choosing instead to humbly serve broken people like Jesus humbly and sacrificially served us. We do have an enemy—whose mission is to steal, kill, and destroy. To confuse, pervert, and divide. To deceive, distract, and dismantle. But more importantly, we have a God—whose mission is to redeem, revive, and restore. He specializes in putting broken things back together. He is able to bring the dead back to life and make all things new.   So when you see evil wreaking havoc across the world, in the lives of the people around you, and even in your own heart, remember … God is bigger. God is greater. You aren’t in this battle alone. And because we already know the end of the story, we can fight from a place of victory!  Just as darkness can’t exist when it’s flooded with light, evil can’t prevail when it’s overpowered with good. So today, think of some ways you can fight evil by doing good to those around you.